The Memiors of StarCrossed Lovers
by hipstergamer
Summary: Ella is the victor of the sixty-eighth Hunger Games, Cinna is the son of a fashion designer that is well known in the Capitol, but love is a funny thing. Cinna/OC!
1. Put Up for Sale

Well this is a rewrite of a story of mine called "Emotions Through Work". It was a Cinna and an OC character story that I ended up having really bad writers block to go on. Basically I am restarting it and changing it up a bit. Anyways, all places and people belong to Susan Collins.

**Ella:**

I cannot close my eyes anymore. The images of death and despair are painted inside my eyelids. I should have gotten into drinking or doing some type of drug; at least I did not have to bear with the pain of the games. I did not do that though and decided to stay on a clean route. At least I know how my father feels, he deserves so much better than what has been done to him. My mother left when I was reaped, leaving my father on a downward spiral of depression and thoughts of death. Now we have the same thought process, but try to get through it together.

Sometimes I wish that I did not win, that I did not have to go back to the Capitol. I always have dreams about my own death, a noble death for my district. However, I knew that some greater power wants me to stray here. There is a reason a girl with no odds in her favor, which lived the high victor life, had not any chance of winning won. "You out witted them," my father always explains to me, "you are a very intelligent girl, Ella."

My father always makes me think with his comments, about how true he was. Most of the time I always thought that he had a sixth sense, and that was what was going to happen in the future. Even his old stories about how things where going to get better made you press the pause button and think. Maybe things would eventually get better for me. The Capitol took much from me, my sense of being human, my mother, and whatever ties that my father had to sanity. There is one thing that they did not take from me. Design.

Design was my talent as a little girl. Being from District Eight, I knew about fabrics from school and I knew how to put them together. A few stitches there and I had made my first outfit at age five. It has been my specialty ever since.

Now we head back to the hell that everybody knows as the Capitol. I have been summoned up to the President's Mansion the first thing after I step off the train platform. At first I wanted to say "no" to them, but I knew that would be putting my father and me at risk for death. I just hope that they do not do what they did to Finnick Odair, forcing him to pleasure those of the Capitol. He knew their secrets, but never used them against the people they belonged to. It was just too risky and would be thought as a sign of another rebellion.

The midday sun was illuminating anything that it was touching; from the ugly, rugged rocks that lined the mountain of the Capitol, to the sparkles of the sea in the distance. The scenery was so beautiful, and was the only thing I liked about being in the trains. "Ella, come over here," one of Cecelia's kids pulls on my pant legs, "we have something to cheer you up!" I smile at the young boy, with his golden hair, dark eyes; he was so much like his father.

"Well, do not keep me waiting," I smile as he grabs onto my hand, really my finger, with his tiny hand and leads the way.

"Close your eyes," his little voice commands, I do as I am told, "you have your eyes closed?"

I nod my head, "yes Daniel, I have my eyes closed."

"Good, we are there," a voice whispers and I knew that it was not Daniel's. I feel his hand leave mine, "now open your eyes." I open my eyes to find my stylists on the television screen. What a disappointment, before I noticed his house and his conversation.

"Is that really you Carron?" I whisper, "is that really you?"

"Yes, it is me, my little Dandelion," his voice soothes me over, "how have you been?" This conversation lasts all the way to the Capitol. Carron and me go over everything that had happened since the victory tour. He tells me how popular my designs are in the Capitol and not to worry about Snow. Really, I was forgetting about my summons to the President's Mansion to he mentions it. "So you think I will be fine?" I ask him through a microphone that has been lying on the table.

"Yes, if it is anything, it is about your designs. Again sweetheart, do not worry," Carron gives me a reassuring smile, "it looks like your train is stopped, so I must get going. I wish your tributes the best of luck and I will see you later. Good bye." The screen goes black before I could say anything else. Cecelia grabs onto my shoulder for a second, gives me a smile of good luck before exiting the train. It had stopped without me knowing it; even the tributes were off board.

I pull over the jacket I brought with me and step off in the somewhat chilly Capitol air. When I am off the platform, I look for any sign of somebody to pick me up. There was only two peacekeepers, who watch me closely like I was going to do something wrong. I peer at them, pushing up my glasses, and flash the one to my left a smile. He rolls his eyes and whispers something under his breath, but does not move his position. I hear a slight giggle leave my throat, the first one between months of pain.

A dark car pulls parallel to the train and a man dressed in all dark steps out of the back of the car. "Ms. Hawthorne, you have been summonsed to the President's Mansion," the man steps out my way and offers his hand, "now lets go together." I have heard this voice before, but I cannot put a face to it. Not matter what I take his hand and let him lead me into the car.

The man's face was shaded and I could not tell who he was and why he is escorting me for the car ride. He sits there quietly; all I could tell is that he was like everybody else in the Capitol, skinny, crazy, and a borderline alcoholic. When we arrive, there are no paparazzi, but you could see busy avoxes getting ready for the tribute parade. The car pulls up right in front of the president's gigantic mansion; the avox driver opens the door. I whisper to him, which is a risk in its self, "thank you." He smiles before shutting the door and getting back into the driver's seat.

My escort had already gotten ahead of me, and I could only get a glimpse of the brown hair that covered his head the suit he was wearing. "Follow me," he shouts back without turning around, he motions me with his right hand. I follow him up the stairs and into the mansion. I follow him through the luxurious hallway filled with paintings of long before this time; the walls were different colors and lined with crown molding. All the halls of the small palace were the same, even with the sharp turns through different halls. We stop in front of a door and the man opens it and holds it open, keeping his arm behind of them.

"_With the innocent on his face is a map of the world.  
>A map of the world, on his face is a map of the world."<em>

― _From Yesterday, 30 Seconds to Mars_

At first, the aroma of roses greets me; it was a rose garden. As we venture further on the smell becomes more sickening. I knew that smell from months before in the victory tour. My eyes start tearing up; it was _him_; the man that forced me to design for the Capitol; the man who took everything from me, including my humanity. I know not to show that I am weak, the others told me that. Finnick told me that was the only way I was going to survive if I were called into his home.

"Oh Seneca, you brought her!" the voice was materializing now.

"As you requested, sir," the man replies, taking a seat across from. I peer at the small group of men; there were three of them: the Head Gamemaker, the President, and a man that I never knew.

"Now sit, Ella, your are not in trouble," the president points to the seat next to the man. I slide into the seat and immediately peer down at my feet, "now look up! I only have a proposition for you!"

I let my gaze meet his sinister gaze, "then why are they here?"

"Do not worry about them," the president reassures me, "now lets get down to the real reason that you are here. I am correct that you met Finnick Odair?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" I peer at the man next to me, then to Seneca, then back to Snow.

"You do know what Finnick does when he is in the Capitol?"

I shake my head, "No, I do not."

The president smirks, pulling a rose from one of the bushes and picks up a pair of clippers. He disgusts me, but I have to do what he says. "Well Jeremiah, I guess she is yours now, remember to make your payment later." I do not have enough time to react before I am dragged away from this foreign man and out of the building. He pushes me into a car, in the back seat. "Now sweet heart I am going to make you regret fighting," I am trying to kick the door open, but fail, "lets get you going again."

I lose my dignity and respect that afternoon as I stay at that man's apartment for around two hours. "You where great," Jeremiah smiles, his dark blue wig falling off his head and revealing his brown hair. I just pull on the last article of clothing that I had left before pulling myself up from his bed. The man's eyes droop and slowly close. He is deep into slumber now, which is when I sneak out of his house.

There was no way that I knew how to find my way through the Capitol. There were no faces that I knew here, that I could attach to and let them find my way through. So I just wander, hoping to find another Victor. I knew Haymitch would be in this part of the city, there are a lot of bars and I knew he would roam in this area with Chaff. I do not find their faces, but I do find a peacekeeper. "Umm, excuse me sir!" I shout to the peacekeeper, "can you give me the direction to where all the victors would be right now. I am Ella Hawthorne and I need to find them.

"Go down the block, take a right, then a left, they should be in the blue building on the corner," He whispers, "congratulations Ms. Hawthorne, if you need anymore help head back here."

"Thank you," I start following the directions that the peacekeeper. I take a right, and then head down the block. I am stopped by people that I knew where my sponsors, who decide to take more pictures and some of the male ones ask about contacting Snow. I do not tell them a thing and just head to the left. I spot the blue building and smile, opening the glass doors to find all of the victors there.

All eyes turn to me when I enter. Finnick is the first to get up as I start crying, he throws his arms around me, "I know that this happened to you, I am sorry this happened to you."

"You knew all along?" I choke out, letting his body protect me from the sight of the others and the world.

"Yes, and I tried to stop it. I know how it feels. I have lived with it for three years now, just come up to my bedroom tonight and we will talk about this in private. Okay?"

I nod my head, "lets talk about this Finnick." He lets go of me and I peer at my father. Everybody knows what Snow forced me to do; and give me apologetic looks as I head towards my father and Cecelia. I start crying, just falling on my knees in front of my father and my mentor. "I am sorry," I choke out between the tears, "I am a disgrace to you and District Eight."

My father, whose auburn eyes are glazed over with sleepiness, just meets my gaze, "you are not a bad person, Ella. You can not stand up against the Capitol."

"Your not a bad person Ella, really I do respect you for enduring that kind of pain. Especially since it was not somebody that you love and have married. I just precaution you to be safe," Cecelia grabs onto my hand, "We are here for you. Not just your father and me, all of the victors; especially Finnick. We will make sure that you are safe and still have the most normal life you can. Just endure this for us while we figure out how we can help you. You got that Ella?"

I nod my head, "as long as I know that there are people behind me, I will endure this. However, why me?" Cecelia and my father look at each other then at the other victors. I never get an answer for the rest of the afternoon. All of just sit in a room, telling stories about our Hunger Games. There is drinks and food laid out for us and we just continue or idle chitchat. I try to ignore the avoxes, the silent souls that we must order around, cause I do not want to be cruel to them, even if they were criminals.

After a couple of hours worth of talking, it is time for the tribute parade. I had made some friends, including Beetee and Wiress (who I must say have the most wonderful relationship in the world), Finnick and Mags, and Blight and Johanna. Finnick offers to take up to the VIP area to watch the parade, "come on, it is fun."

I am resistant at first, but I agree to go. Finnick and me have to go immediately if we were going to the area early before all of the big Capitol citizens get there. We walk through the darkening and crowding streets together, I hold onto the back of Finnick's plaid polo. I just make sure not to leave the bronze hair on top of his head, being shorter than most of the citizens. Luckily I do not lose him and we make it to the area safely.

"Come on, let me introduce you to a couple of people," Finnick shouts over the loud music and starts making his way through the building. I do not reply and just follow him as he piles through the crowd. When I catch up to him, I grab onto his belt for his shorts and let him glide me to a staircase. There is nobody there so I am reassured that there will not be large crowds anymore and just follow Finn.

Finnick and me make our way up a silvery staircase that is lined with portraits of the people who own the home. I just hold onto the rail and try to straighten out my black reaping dress, the incident earlier made my clothes wrinkle a tad bit. "We are almost there," Finn could speak in a quieter tone now; the music was dulled now.

"Finn, who do you want me to meet?" I question him; my feet were killing me from walking so much in heels today.

"Stop complaining, we are almost there. They are good friends of mine," you could hear the lighted tone in his voice; that was much different from earlier today. When we reach the top of the staircase he is greeted by his friends, "hey, Sienna and Annette, and you too Cinna."

The room was small, but outside there was a balcony that faced where the tribute parade was about to happen. Finnick's friend were a small family, they sit on a large, circular, black leather couch in the middle of the room. They had their own refreshments and goodies to snack on, totally ignoring the party going on down on the lower floor. The three of them just stare out to the balcony, talking about the tributes this year. "Come Ella, let me introduce you to these people," Finnick whispers, pulling me over to the couch and sitting me next to the younger boy.

"Ella, the party is going to come up here in a minute, if you seen someone that might be your future love, ask me about them. I know everybody in this party," Finnick whispers, "good luck, sweetheart. Remember, I will find you later to take you for dinner at the training center." Finnick steps up and the boy I was sitting next to walks out onto the balcony to get a front view. I decide to follow him with nothing better to do, and stand out and hold onto the metal rails.

At first there is nobody out there except this young man, and me, he does not say a word to me and watches the crowds below. You could hear the crowds of below roar in cheer as they get the announcement that the tribute parade was going to start in five minutes. People from the party start to pile onto the large balcony. They all try to have conversations with each other, but they end up shouting to people that are right next to them. The boy does not say anything and holds onto the cool metal bars; he was in focused on the ground below.

You could hear the echoes of cheers coming from down the cheers coming from down the street. The parade was starting and I was being pushed up against the bars, so was the boy that was next to me. There was another young man to my left as well, who tries to hit on me. I just roll my eyes at the cheesiness of his pick up lines and the crude jokes that makes me shake my head. He makes fun of the district kids, but I doubt he knows I come from a district. I just watch the activities below; the tributes are dressed in fabulous costumes. "I know I can do much better than these stylist," the boy shouts over the music, "what a shame."

I guess that comment was meant to be towards me, "I know right, I have my own line that is ten times better than this." His green eyes meet mine; I finally could see his face. He had green eyes, wore golden eyeliner that brought out the gold flecks in his eyes. His skin was a pale white, but he has freckles that line his nose; his lips are pale. He has dark brown hair covers half of his forehead. He had a pretty face and I could not help myself from smiling.

The boy quickly turns away and I could see the blush that paints his face. I giggle under my breath and turn back to the parade with the last chariot of District Twelve. The crowd diminishes and the people head on their own merry ways. The boy leaves with a group of older men, leaving me standing by myself on the balcony. I lean my elbow on the rail and lay my head on top of my hand, "who are you boy with the golden-green eyes? Why do you look so normal? I must know more about you."

Finnick was behind me in my moment of pure lust, "I guess you found somebody at the party sweetheart? What is his name?"

I turn around and smile at Finn, "I do not know, all I know he is the boy with the green-gold eyes."

"Oh, him, he is such a charmer and a looker. You have picked well young lady, now lets head to the Training Center and get you some food. Then we will talk about your current situation," Finnick whispers to me, grabbing onto my arm. He escorts through the crowds that continue to celebrate the Hunger Games. I remember watching these people from my room last year, wishing that I were apart of it. At least these citizens did not have a care in the world.

We enter the training center, greeted by one of the Game Makers that were heading for the party. Oh the rumors that were going to be started by that Game Maker! I knew Finnick has his love at home that he would protect with his own life; I did not know her name, but I knew she was beautiful. Little ugly me was walking arm to arm with the hottest man in Panem; which is news story in the Capitol.

We enter the elevator and Finnick punches in the numbers "04", and we make our short descent to District Four's floor. When we step off the food was being cleaned off from the table, leaving my stomach rumble. "Adelina, will you please bring Ella here a drink of tea and a plate of seafood with a summer salad," Finnick asks, "it will be greatly appreciated, just bring it to my room when it's ready." The dark headed avox nods her head; stepping onto the elevator and leaving our sight, "follow me sweetheart."

Finnick leads me through the District Four level, through halls painted green and blue like the sea. I follow him down a blue green hall and into the room at the very end. The door slides open, which is different, opening a room with a window view of the Capitol city lights. Finnick sits me down on a modern bed with dark wood headboards, light green blanket, and dark blue pillows. The room was beautiful, large, and lined with candles that kept you in passion once you step through the door.

"I can turn the lights on if you wish," Finnick pulls are chair and takes a seat in front of me.

I preferred the candlelight, and actually enjoyed it, "No Finnick, it is perfectly fine. Now start off telling me why I have gotten into this predicament."

Finnick looks down, his golden curls auburn in the candlelight, "see when you first won the games last year your sponsors mentioned much about your beauty. They told President Snow how much they wanted you, just like they did to me. See when there is request for those types of dirty things makes President Snow only think of profit for himself. That is why they forced you into this, me and you are the only ones who have to suffer this fate."

"I am not pretty."

"Not pretty? Darling, have you ever looked into a mirror? You're the most gorgeous girl in the world, and I am pretty sure that everybody else thinks that."

"Finnick, what am I going to do about this situation?"

There is a loud sigh that escapes his lips, "we really can not do anything but do what the Capitol wants us to do. Do not worry though, remember how I said I wanted you to look at young men at the party?"

I nod my head, "yes Finnick, the one with the green-gold eyes and beautiful complexion is my choice out of all of them."

"Well get him to fall in love with you, that is all I am going to say. Now, the rest of the conversation is something for another time. Now I believe your feast is arriving in a couple of minutes, just lay back and relax." He pushes me down onto the bed and smiles, getting out of the chair and laying down next to me. The bed was large, so both of us could fit.

"Am I really pretty, Finnick?" I ask him, letting my gaze stay glued on him.

"Yeah, which makes it more than a task to lay in this bed with you," Finnick whispers, throwing his arm on top of the pillow and lets me nuzzle my head on his arm. I just gently fall asleep, forgetting the food and hoping my father does not figure out about this. He obviously wants his fifteen-year-old daughter to be laying with a seventeen-year-old boy known for sex.

However, I do not dream of Finnick, I only dream of the green-gold eyed boy from earlier, what his name would possibly be. How was he so normal in this outrageous place known for its color? I had to know more.


	2. To Find Love in Greater Ways

**Cinna:**

The girl with the auburn eyes, who wears glasses ten times too large for her face, her smile that could light a room without a single candle; who are you young lady? Why did I not talk to her when I had a chance? She was so normal and obviously was not a Capitol girl; she did not paint her face with outrageous make up and tried to dress up in every single color possible. I had to know more about her, like her name. All I know is that she came in with Finnick Odair and that is about it. I wish I stayed with her when I had the chance.

She has been the only girl that has had a passionate effect on me. All those girls that my father tries to get me to date and to marry. Being nineteen, it has been high time for me to leave the house and to start a family. My father just wants me to marry someone higher up in the Capitol, to keep his reputation. "Only if you make sure that she has power," is what he always says. I did not want to marry those girls; all they were are puppets living off their daddy's money. I just wanted a girl like her, who looked normal and does not care about how she looks.

Oh! Her beauty was mesmerizing. Those auburn eyes sparkled in the moonlight. She was pale and her smile could make anybody swoon for her. She had dimples when she smiled, which most girls in the Capitol do not have. Her black hair was long and curly, and I loved it. Why did father's friends take me away from her? I lost my chance because of them!

"Cinna, come downstairs right now!" my father shouts from behind my bedroom door, "it is time for breakfast!" A groan escapes my lips as I try to pull myself up from the comfort of my bed. I did not want to leave the warm covers or see any daylight; I had a slight hangover from all of my dad's friends. "Get down here now!" he shouts again, even louder from the kitchen.

"I am coming!" I shout on top of my lungs and fall back on top of my yellow covers. I did not want to leave the comfort of my bed; I did not want to leave those dreams of that wonderful night. I give myself five minutes, three to get ready for the day and two to daydream. For the two minutes, I see her face once again. It was such a vivid memory, which was a surprise in itself. For the next three minutes I pull on a pair of khaki pants, a green plaid top, and a olive green sweater and walk out into the hall without my shoes.

"I swear if you are not down here in three seconds, I am coming up!" my father shouts for the last time, but notices that I am in the kitchen right next to the door. He looks down at his breakfast in embarrassment and slowly chews his turkey. I pull a seat next to him, hit a button and my food appears in the middle of the table. I take my plate and slowly start at some eggs.

"You were talking in your sleep last night," my father mentions, looking up to reveal his green eyes that were bright, "who is the girl with the auburn eyes?"

"First off, why were you watching me sleep," I drop my fork and take a sip of orange juice, "secondly, why do you want to know?"

"I was checking up on you, my friends left drunk last night and you were with them. I just want to know, was it a girl from last night?" He replies so calmly, his gaze stays locked on for every second. I feel the heat rush up to my cheeks, he knows now. A smile stretches over my father's lips, "who is she?"

"You know the girl that was escorted by Finnick Odair?" I explain to him, my gaze finally meets his.

"Oh, her?" my father's smile fades, "my competition?"

"What do you mean by 'my competition'?" I question him. Why was she his competition?

"Son, that young lady was Ella Hawthorne. She was the victor from last year's Hunger Games. Any of it coming back to you?" My father starts explaining, taking a sip of his coffee, "now I must get going son, see you tonight." He was out the door before I could say any more. I throw his plate into the middle of the table, along with mine and hit the button once again sending them down for the dishwasher.

Ella Hawthorne? I could not believe that I was so stupid to not remember her face! It was she, now everything was materializing now. She said something about a line, she came in with Finnick, she was the one I saw on the television merely months ago. It was her and I could not believe it. I had to see her again, no matter what my father says.

I pull myself up from the table and rush to get myself out of the apartment. I pull on a pair of shoes and run out into the outside. Maybe I was crazy, but maybe fate will have a wish for us to see each other once again. I just head in a random direction, not knowing where I wanted to go or where to start. I am driven mad by this girl who I only know her looks and hobbies.

"Hey Cinna!" that was a familiar voice, "where are you heading?" I peer around my shoulder, to find the silver wig and silver eyes staring back at me.

"Mazda, I am just wandering around," I turn around and come to a complete stop. I put on a fake smile; really I did not want to talk to him and just wanted to find Ella.

"Why would you do that? Who is he, she, or it?" Mazda stops in front of me and lets his arms fall towards his waist and smiles right back at me, "you know I can read you like a book."

It was like he read my mind, I was looking for someone, "fine, I am looking for a girl that I met at the party last night."

His eyes brighten and he starts asking questions, "Who is she? We have to find her? What does she look like?" This was the issue with Mazda; he always was trying to hook me up with her Capitol girlfriends. However, he has been my friend since we both were in diapers, so I better listen to him.

"She is Ella Hawthorne," I gulp, "you know last year's victor."

Mazda was literally shaking with excitement by now, "oh my gosh! I even saw her earlier! Come on Cinna, I will show you where she is!"

"Well lets go," he grabs onto my hand and starts dragging me through the streets of the Capitol. I pass by many unique people, who say hello to me and my friend. Some ask if he was kidnapping me. I was quickly being dragged through different intersections, and finally making a stop in front of the training center. "Okay, why are we here?" I ask him, pulling my hand away from.

"All of the victors should be leaving in about ten minutes," Mazda cannot hold in much of his excitement, "then you can see Ella." He sits down on a bench next to the front door. I just join and people watch. I see a family with a newborn son. The father seems to treat his wife with complete respect and honor. The wife enjoys the extra attention and turns it back to her baby in her arms. They seemed so perfect; by why did they seem so far?

Mazda starts to shake my shoulder, "Cinna! They are coming out!" My gaze goes from the family and goes to the group leaving the Training Center. I spot mostly older victors like Beetee and Haymitch. They must be trying to get their tributes out there. I finally spot Finnick with Mags, but no Ella.

"Hey Finn!" I shout, pulling out of the seat and chasing after him.

He stops and turns around, flashing his pearly whites, "hey Cinna."

"Finnick, I need to talk to you about last night. Okay, the girl that you escorted into the party, well…" I start to trail off, to find Ella arm and arm with another man, Seneca Crane to be exact, "I like her, I can not get her off my mind. Please tell me she is not dating Seneca Crane."

Finnick glances at Seneca and Ella, "no she is not. Lets go get some lunch, I will explain what is happening to her, see you later Mags." I say a quick goodbye to Mazda before following Finnick through the busy streets of the Capitol. He dodges people with such grace and poise, I run into about everybody that walks in my direction. "I know a great café that is up ahead, we will get lunch there," he turns back and reassures me that I will get through this quickly.

When we first arrive I just stare out at the small café. It had multiple colors; it had a pink and blue over cover. There was an outdoor seating area with screens for people to watch the Hunger Games. People were sitting outside discussing about the tributes this year. Many were still talking about last year's games and victor. Finnick and me head inside and grab a seat in the outdoor patio. We both sit across from each other and order some waters.

"Okay, just listen to me," Finnick demands of me, "will you do that?"

His body language is stiff, but I finally answer, "yes, Finnick, I do think Ella is beautiful."

"Doesn't everybody," Finnick replies to my comment, then starts explaining to me, "The first thing after Ella won her games last year, I was called into Snow's rose garden. I was not alone, three of Ella's sponsors and Seneca had all been called as well. I sat in front of Snow; he is so sinister that I could not even look at him. The others sat in a circle around him. Her sponsors decided to talk about how they loved Ella and her beauty. Snow was only thinking a profit for himself. He declared that she would suffer the same fate that I had, being forced into prostitution, but this time for his own wallet.

"Weeks later I demanded to talk to Snow about this issue. We both were at each other's throats until we both came to a single conclusion. Ella could get out of pleasing the citizens of the Capitol under one condition: if she were to have a baby. The man who would help her conceive this child would be the one she would marry and to live out the rest of her days in the Capitol. Snow was very diabolical in thinking, but we both set the standards. When she first arrived, I took her to this party hoping that she would meet a nice and promising young man. Cinna there is one thing that I need to tell you, she has the same feelings for you. I fear though you might have some competition."

I just peer down at the place mat, "what do you mean, she likes me? Who is my competition?"

"Oh, you two are just alike; both are in denial about something. Anyways, she does have the same feelings, I could hear it in her sleep, hey she even was talking about you when you left after the party!" Finnick explains, "Anyways, Seneca is your competition. He is working to have a child with her. You better get straight on it if you actually want to be with her."

"I have to have a child with her?" I ask him, "okay, but when will she be free. I just need to talk to her first."

Finnick stirs his water, "unfortunately Seneca has her for the three days until the tributes go into the arena. Cecelia said she would take her place as the mentor for the female as long as she could find someone. You have then. Okay, know what forget the food, I must get going to get my tribute out there. Goodbye Cinna."

Finnick leaves and tries to find Mags, I just sit the table. How was I going to do this? How was I going to skip more than a couple of steps with Ella? Only thing that I knew, I could not let Seneca win.


	3. Together, Forever

**Ella:**

I feel so alone right now; so distant from the world that I used to know. As he shifts his weight onto his elbow and his cold eyes meet mine, I know it is true. I am not a human anymore; I am just a puppet for the Capitol. All I wanted now it to have a true feeling of passion and love. Right now I had no feelings, I just had a small feeling of redemption.

"What is a matter, Ella darling?" he tries to soothe me over and make me feel. The man lying in the same bed as me pulls over my body and kisses my cheek. He was so passionate and I wondered why. He was so different from the other guys that I was forced to sleep with. I just close my eyes, day dreaming that he was the guy with the golden-green eyes that I met merely days ago. Was it days ago? I could not remember now, all I do is his face.

"Nothing, Seneca," I spat, turning my body away from the Gamemaker.

I could hear his sigh all the way from here, he pulls his arms around me and whispers, "it sure does not sound like nothing."

His hot breath on my neck is enough to send tingles down my spine, but I still feel no emotion. "What is it to say, that I cannot feel anymore, nor can I get one off my mind? I am forced into these kinds of things and forced not to feel any pain. All I want is the one I am thinking of, but know nothing about him," I start rambling, "I just want to fee actual love, not the synthetic one that the Capitol wants me to have."

There is a brief silence before Seneca replies, "Just forget him, there is someone that loves you, just turn around." I turn my body around and let my head sink into his chest. Maybe I needed to get this boy off my mind. For all I know, this is my life now, useless and unforgiving. He starts to run his fingers through my hair making me sleepy. "Why are you so passionate?" I ask on the brink of entering the dream world.

"I love you, Ella. I am trying to have a child with you," Seneca kisses my cheek again.

My eyes become the size of snowballs, I was wide-awake now, "what do you mean that you want to have a child with me? Why is that so important to you?"

Seneca's eyes thin, "you do not know about the 'clause'?"

I pull myself out of his arms and the bed, pull over a robe, and stare down at him. "What the hell is the 'clause'? So no, I do not. It turns out that Snow had some more explaining to do?" Anger was taking over my emotionless body; rage and fury filled my impassionate eyes.

"The clause where if you get pregnant, the father of the conceived child would get you out of the prostitution thing and be your husband. You would be out of this dispassionate pain," He explains, but I am already wanting to leave grabbing onto my bag with my clothes and reaching for the door knob, "now if you leave, Snow would have to hear about this. Lets just say anything precious to you would be gone." I just ignored his threat, pulling the door open and running out of the apartment grabbing my shoes on the way. He did not follow, which was a sign that I was free. I was free from his oppression that I had for the past three days.

I hit the button on the elevator and wait there with the barrier that was my robe. I carry my shoes in my hand, my bag in the other. When the elevator arrives I push up my glasses and step in. I was the only one on the short ride, so I decide to get dressed. I pull over a hooded sweatshirt before grabbing onto my bag. I wait for the silvery doors to open to get me out of this hell and into the place that I know my family and friends care for me. When the bell rings singling that I had made it to the bottom floor, I am relieved and exit through the lobby and into the chilly night air of the night in the Capitol.

The only thing I do is wander aimlessly through the streets of the Capitol, which seemed like a ghost town this early in the morning. There is a small wind that blows through my hair and nips at my nose. The cold outside turns me into an icicle. I had to get to the training center and the square, but I have an issue about finding my way around. Eventually I find a peacekeeper that leads me through the streets and to the training center. "Thank you kind sir," I whisper to the man, trying to slip him some money.

"No, keep it, it was my pleasure. Now have a nice day Ella," the peacekeeper whispers before going back to his patrol. I smile as he leaves and enter into the building quietly. I go into the elevator and hit the number eight and let the elevator take me home to my father. When the metal doors open, I just push my way through. Everybody was asleep, including the avoxes that worked on our floor. I just fall back on the couch, discarding my bag to the side. I turn on the television to find a repeat of my Hunger Games is on. It was just starting so it was after the reapings; the Head Gamemaker was talking to Caesar.

"Well, Aaron, what do you think about the tribute selection this year?" Caesar question the man, "anybody you want our citizens to root for?"

A smile stretches on the man's face, "Well I just have to say, and you better look at District Eight tribute Ella Hawthorne. She is the daughter of a victor, she is bound to be as good as a career tribute."

"Well you heard it here everybody, look at District Eight in the tribute parade tonight. I am the head of ceremonies Caesar Flickerman," Caesar signs off and the screen goes black.

I quickly shut off the television before I could see any more things that remind me of the games. They all were dark memories that I just wanted to erase from my mind. I killed to many people; I heard to many cannons; I did not want to go back into the arena visually or mentally, nor physically. I just hold onto the remote with a strong grip, I never did get out of the arena. I am still living through the Hunger Games.

"Ella, what are you here and what are you doing up?" I hear a loud yaw come from a female behind me, "are you supposed to be at Seneca's till noon?"

I turn around to find Cecelia who is still in her nightgown, I just give her the same unemotional face, "I was supposed to be, but I learned about his plans and ran from the house as fast as I could. I am sorry Cecelia, but I can not stand this anymore."

Cecelia walks over and sits by me and puts her hand onto of mine, "sweetheart, you can not stand up against the Capitol like that. Now I fear that you or you father might get hurt. Did you want that to happen? Anyways, what was Seneca's plan?"

I gulp, I probably put a death sentence on my father and me, "I just did not want to be forced to marry him, and he was trying to have a child with me. There is a clause that if I do get pregnant; I have to marry the man that is my conceived child's father. I do not want to marry Seneca Crane, I just want to see the boy I met at the party days ago."

"You want to have someone that you love marry you, the love should be mutual. Maybe, if it happens, we can hide a pregnancy from Snow. You do not have to come to the Capitol when you do. Unless they have you go to Capitol doctors," Cecelia was spacing out, "we can easily hide it and you would never have to marry. If worst comes to worst we will object the marriage. If you want that boy, you might as well go to Five. Actually let me call Elizabeth up here…maybe she can explain more about it." She lifts herself from the couch and heads over to the phone across the room. I have yet to meet his boy, but I already had a plan to have a child with him? I shake the idea off my mind.

"Well hello all you textile people!" Finnick Odair's perfectly toned voice echoes through the room, "I am searching for Ella Hawthorne! You have a visitor!" Finnick enters his room, even beautiful at this time of the day, he smiles, "Now I heard you stood up against Seneca Crane, now that was a risky move, but congrats I would never have the courage to do that."

"Thank you, Finn," I whisper, staring at his sea-green eyes, "now who is my visitor?"

A smile stretch across Finn's face, "hey boy with the golden-green eyes!"

My eyes widen and I start to frantically search for his face, it enters next to Finnick, "hello Ella, I am Cinna." He gives me a small wave and drops his arm to his side.

"Cinna," I must have sounded like an idiot, "it is actually you."

He chuckles and steps over to me, taking a seat right down next to me, "you actually are prettier in person. I really do swear that I cannot get you off my mind. You had some type of narcotic effect on me, and I have to tame my addiction. A kiss?" I nod my head and lean in to kiss his soft pink lips. At first both of eyes were open, trying to see if the other was actually enjoying the kiss. Eventually both of our eyes close and we both explore each other's lips and mouths. It was the most passionate kiss I ever had, and if had been before the prostitution it would have been my first.

"Okay you two, you need some air at one point," Finnick breaks us apart, "three days, not knowing her, and you already have made out with her? You have some type of effect over woman that I need to know about. Anyways, Cecelia called me up here along with Elizabeth, who should arrive any moment."

"You two make such a cute couple!" Cecelia exclaims, tapping Cinna and me's shoulders before starting a private conversation with Finnick. It left me and this boy sitting alone and right next to each other.

"So, how old are you?" Cinna asks, "no wait, I remember the betting board, you are fifteen? Am I correct?"

I nod my head, "how about you?"

"I am currently nineteen-years-old, I will be twenty in another month," he replies, he grabs onto my hand. His hands were soft and I just stare at his grip then look back up. We shared this of complete intimacy, and then Elizabeth finally comes to our floor.

"Okay? Finn? Cecelia? What is so important at three in the morning?" she spoke in a thick accent, but everybody could understand.

"How long does it take to get to District Five if we leave right now?" Finnick asks frantically, almost knocking the sleepy ginger off her feet.

"Two hours to be exact," she replies, "why Finn are you going to five?"

"Okay you do genetic engineering there, right? Can you help some friends of mine? This matter is a life or death situation, were some of the people in the room can be gone. Please do help," Finnick rushed out his words, some of them, slurring.

"Yes, we do. Your friends, are they trying to conceive a child? If so, who are they exactly?" Elizabeth's eyes were large and focused onto Finn. He points to Cinna and me, and whispers some words into her ear. She nods her head and turns to the two of us. "Okay you two, just follow me," Elizabeth points her finger at the two of us, making us walk behind her into the elevator.

When we step on, she starts to explain to us about what was happening, "Okay you two, it looks like Ms. Hawthorne has gotten herself into a predicament, and it can mean life or death. Cinna, I need you to be a father, and Ella you a mother. You two are going to have to have a child, to give an excuse for her getting angry with a Gamemaker. We have bigger prices to pay if we do not."

"Wait, wha-?" She cuts me off mid sentence, "you have no other choice Ella. I know you like this boy, lets just say do you want to be star-crossed lovers?" I shake my head, looking at Cinna who is standing quietly. I knew he already knew about this plan and was on board with it. I guess I had to as well, to be a mother you needed a good father on your side.

I let my hand slide on top of his, I ask, "together?"

His attention turns to me, his fingers interlock with mine, "together, forever."

"_I no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together."  
>― <span>Lisa Kleypas<span>, Blue-Eyed Devil_


	4. Believe

**Cinna:**

I place my hand on top of her bulging middle thinking about the miracle that was forming inside her. The best thing about it was mine and I am allowed to be with her. Ella's head rests on my shoulder and stares out of the window to stare out at the rest of the Capitol. She has been so strong through this whole process, but being fifteen and pregnant is not on top of every girl's bucket list. She was a strong young girl and I knew that is the reason why she won her games.

Everybody has heard about the baby news, from the Capitol all the way to District Twelve. My father at first just disowned me, kicking me out of the home and forced me to find my own place. Anyways, I needed somewhere for my child and future wife that was our own. So I found an apartment that had two rooms and had a view of the Capitol. A couple of weeks before we went to her fifth month or twenty week ultrasound my father came with and had a change of heart. He bought everything for his new grandchild, decorating the small room into a child's wonderland. I finally remembered why him and me had a great relationship when I was younger; he always was there for me.

Snow was the worst out of all the reactions. He looked as if he was ready to kill either Ella or me. Seneca also was on Snow's side, with eyes set to kill. However, they knew that they would have something much worst on their hands and decide to let us live the rest of our lives out. Our wedding was set three days after she gives birth to our son or daughter. I am already counting down the days; it should be less than a month already.

"Cinna? What time is it?" Ella asks with a yawn escaping her lips.

I smile, "seven o'clock. You have been all day, dear."

She looks up at me with her sleepy eyes, "I am sorry Cinna, I am just really sick of being pregnant. By the way did you get the results from the doctor? I want to know the sex of our baby so we can think of names."

"Elizabeth said she will bring them over once she is done with her Capitol client," I whisper to her, hoping she would fall back asleep, "do not worry about sleeping all day. I have had a nice time just cuddling with you."

"Okay," she pushes her head cup on my shoulder and gently falls back into her dream world. I run my fingers again through the black waves of her hair. When I hear a gentle knock on the door, I pull her off carefully not to disturb Ella's slumber. I tip toe over to the door to find Elizabeth's smiley face staring at mine. "Do you have the papers?"

"Yes of course I do," she lifts of a vanilla envelope with the numbers "G-090909" scratched in front in marker, "may I come in?"

"Of course you may," I step out of her way and let the victor enter. She walks past me, looks to see if Ella was up and heads for the kitchen table. Elizabeth takes a seat at one of the tables and opens up the envelope and takes out the papers. She scatters them, all of them in little piles lined up perfectly.

I take a seat next to her, "okay, so what do you want to know about the baby?"

I sigh, only if Ella was up, "well I guess she wants to know the gender of the baby so she can think of names. Maybe what his physical features maybe would be something else I would like to know."

She pushes up her glasses and smiles, she digs through one of the piles and finds five papers and searches them up and down. "Well your baby is going to be a boy, congratulations. What else you want to know?" her thick accent makes it seem like a joke, however her smile gives me a sense of security.

"How about the hair color and eye color of the baby?" she asks, "I would love to know. I am hoping for a boy with Ella's eyes and hair. "

She looks through her papers again, "well he is going to have dark brown hair, and auburn eyes. Basically he is a mixture of both of you. Anyways Cinna, I will leave this with you, but I have another client before I leave tonight at one. Good night, and say see you later to Ella for me." Elizabeth gets up, making her way through the door, flashing a smile, and exits out of the apartment. I slump back in the chair and think about my child. I cannot help think about what life is going to be like in a couple of weeks. Shaking off any bad ideas that are stuck in my mind and return to my lovely girlfriend.

Ella's face was undisturbed; still her wonderful slumber still was intact. I shake her body gently, whispering, "Ella, get up darling and come to bed with me." An eye opens up peer at me and she pulls herself up and grabs onto her hand. I help and lead her to our bedroom and lay her down on the bed. I close the door behind us and climb into bed next to her. She yawns, but rolls over and lays her head on my shoulder.

I just watch Ella sleep; she was an angel when she slept. I try to be like her and close my eyes. At first it does not work, I am worried if something was going to happen tonight. However, when I do fall asleep I am relaxed and worry free. My dreams had a different story.

I dream of my son's birth, and the first time that Ella is holding him in her arms. He is wrapped in a light blue blanket and has a bracelet with the code "G-09090909" on it. There are a couple of other visitors in the room, including Beetee and Wiress and my father. Flowers that are pink and blue are scattered throughout the room, some with notes and some of them from passerby.

"Do you want to hold him?" Ella asks, "Cinna he is your son, too." I nod my head and pick up the small bundle of joy. He looks up at me with his blue eyes. I smile at him, giving a kiss on top of his forehead. I turn to Ella who is smiling, but looks much worse. I turn my attention back to the baby, but when I turn back to Ella she gets much worse. I see that until she is motionless and her heart rate and pulse is gone.

Letting Beetee hold my son, I rush over to her and scream, "Ella, you better wake up! Do not leave me." Tears were running down my face as I hold onto her pale hand. I was distressed, and when my son starts crying I start to wonder if I was going to go on.

"Cinna! Cinna!" I hear Ella's voice, at first I think it is my conscience; however, I open my eyes to find Ella fully awake and alive, "Okay good, why were you screaming my name in the middle of your sleep?"

"I had a fear of losing you," I whisper into her ear, "I love you, Ella."

She smiles, "I love you, too Cinna. Now since we both are awake at three in the morning do you want to think of baby names? Did Elizabeth come over when I was asleep?"

I flash her a smile back, "Yes, she did. The baby is going to be a boy."

"Yay!" she looks down at her abdomen, "I think we should name in Elie."

I think about it for a second, but I ask, "why Elie?"

"If you spell out the letters of Believe, the middle of them is Elie. I believed that I could survive the Hunger Games and it turns out that I won. It is a name of respect and how I over came my past," Ella puts her hand on top of her middle, "he is the sign of life for me."

"Okay then, I see why you like that name, he should be named that," I kiss her on the cheek, "now his middle name better be some variation of Cinna. It has been a tradition in the family for years where the father's name usually is changed in his first-born son's name. That is why my name is Cinna, after my father Sienna."

"That is fine," Ella whispers, "how about Cinna, but with a y?" 

"Yeah, I think that is what we are going to have to do, it is easier that way," I smile at her, and put my arm around her chest. She just lies there and stares me in the eye. I knew that this was a right decision.

**A/N:: I apologize for the shortness of this chapter and I tell you the next one will much longer. So, I apologize again and I will start up on the next one. :D Thank you all for reading and reviewing!**


	5. Welcome Home

**Ella:**

I hold my bundle of joy in my arms, his name Elie Cynna Rossi. Carrying him made me extremely scared. Seeing him in my arms eases my fear and makes joyful for the first time in months. I keep him close to my heart, he was the result of a blossoming relationship, and he was my symbol of life. Kissing his forehead, I pass him to his father who eagerly waits for the chance to hold his child. Cinna is the only one that I trust with him, he was one half his. I stare at the two, watching Cinna act fatherly.

My body relaxes, falling back on the soft pillow that the nurse set up for me. It was only Cinna and I in the room, his father and mother and my father were set to come in any minute. I just stare at the wall were the television was at. "Cinna, he is beautiful, right?" the words escape my lips lazily as my eyes try to droop lower.

"No words can describe this moment, Ella," Cinna whispered, "I am just happy he is on this Earth and is happy and healthy."

"I know," my eyes drop close, "I just hope our baby stays like that." Cinna is unable to say another word before I drift off. I get a couple of seconds of sleep before his parents and my father are in the room. Cinna's parents gawk about the baby and take pictures. My father stands next to me, and gives a kiss on my forehead, and sits on the side of the bed and takes out a present, "I got something for you. It is from me, Woof, Cecelia, and Amelia."

He hands me the small present a small red velvet box with a white bow. I pull the little white bow and lay it to the side. I open the box to find a pair of baby booties. I think for a second before I remember that these were the booties that we pass around in the District Eight Victor's Village. It was finally my turn to have them, "thank you Dad, they are wonderful."

He smiles back and pats my shoulder, "I knew that you would like them, dandelion. "

"Oh! What did you guys name him?" Cinna's mother comes up to me, her pink wig falling off the side of her head.

"Elie Cynna," I reply to her and pull myself from the comfort from the pillow.

"I see you guys kept the tradition alive," Sienna smiles at Cinna, then he turns his attention to me, "may I have a picture of you and the baby?" I nod my head and Cinna hands our son to me. Sienna smiles, "okay just smile…!" I put on the best smile that I could and wait for the flash. A couple of seconds later Cinna's father puts down the camera and whispers a thank you. He introduces himself to my father before walking out of the room his wife quickly behind. I would see them at the wedding and it would be the same thing.

Cinna double checks that they are gone, and turns his attention to my father, "okay, and thank you for being so calm. I apologize for my parents, they are just happy that I am getting married and I have a child."

"Cinna, where I come from we never are like that," my father's voice was calming and soothing, "really, I found it funny how your parents just want pictures."

"Dad, do you want to hold Elie?" I change the subject. My father nods his head and I hand my baby over to him. I could see the smile that stretches across his face as he takes a look at his grandchild for the first time. He hands the baby back, and the nurse comes in asking to take the child back. I nod my head and hand him over to her.

"Well Ella, I think I need to be leaving, see you at your wedding," my father whispers, gives me another kiss on the cheek before leaving the room.

"What did your father give you?" Cinna asks, picking up the small velvet box.

I fall back into my pillow, "it is the pair of booties that have been handed between the victors."

Cinna opens the box and smiles, "what a great tradition. It is a perfect gift for a new mother. While at it, this is history."

"Yes, Cinna," I whisper, "may I go to sleep?"

Cinna nods and closes the box, "yes, have a good night's sleep. I will be asleep in this chair if you need me." He walks over and gives me a small peck on the lips before walking over to his chair. I let my eyes close, and gently fall back into my dream world. My wonderful dream world has no pain, it has no death, and it just has those who care about me and me. I never wanted to leave this world, but I knew every morning I had to and I would return to it at night.

The next morning I wake up with the sun in my eyes and stretching across the room. I peer over to Cinna's chair, not able to find him anywhere. The only that is with me in the room is a white stroller, telling me that we were going to take our son home today. I just fall back and smile; I hear the door click open and Cinna walks in with a cup of coffee in hand. My gaze turns to him, and he smiles, "sorry, sleeping in the chair did not work out that well."

"It is fine Cinna," I reply, "are we taking Elie home today?"

Cinna nods, "yeah, around noon, and Carrion is coming in a couple of minutes to see you and the baby. I asked the nurses to bring him in." A nurse comes in and hands me Elie, who just woke up and let out a little yawn. I kiss him once again and just hold him close to my heart. Even Elie seems to enjoy this treatment; I could not help from giggling.

"Well hello, Ella," Carrion's voice goes through my mind, I peer up from my son to find my former stylist standing in front of my bed, "look at the mother and son together. Really it is beautiful; the connection between mother and child. You are looking well Ella, really radiant."

"Thank you, Carrion," the heat runs up into my cheeks, "you want to hold, Elie?"

Carrion smiles, "what do you think, dear?"

"Well come over here," Cinna motions him over to me and the baby.

He begins taking steps, lies a present on my lap, and sits on the bed besides me. I hand him my son, and let him enjoy him as well. "Hello Elie, welcome to the world," he turns his attention to me, "now are you going to open your present? I work really hard on it."

I lean over and pick up the navy blue box. I open the top to find a fabric lying inside of it; then pick up the top of the fabric and lift it gently out of the box. It was a wedding dress; it was going to be my wedding dress. I grow emotional and start crying, "Thank you, Carrion."

"Your welcome, Dandelion. I knew that you would enjoy it," Carrion hands Elie to Cinna, "I will see you tomorrow for your wedding." I wave goodbye and fold the dress back into its box. I lay it to the side and stare at Cinna; he was now sitting in the chair and rocking back and forward. He was singing a lullaby that I remembered my father singing to me when I was younger. I start to sing along until our son falls asleep. Cinna walks over and places him in the stroller gently.

"I guess it is around noon?" I ask, trying to see if there is a clock in the room.

"It is about eleven thirty, so yes, it is around noon," Cinna replies taking a seat next to me on the bed.

"Well I need to get ready then," I pull myself out of the bed, "were are my clothes?"

"In the bag that is in the corner of the room," Cinna points to the bag, "now get ready you worthless thing."

I give him a large smile and kiss him on the cheek, "on it." I step out of the bed and pull a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. The last thing I do is pulling a gray hooded sweatshirt over my shoulders. I was warm and comfortable, after being the hospital for a day or two it was a relief. I close the bag and walk over to Cinna handing it to him. "Okay, I will head to the nurse's station and ask if we can leave and check you guys out early," he whispers, giving me a kiss before exiting the room.

Walking towards the stroller, I peer down at my son. He was quietly sleeping, stretched out on the small little bed built inside. I grab onto the handle of the stroller tightly, pushing him around the medium sized medical room. It felt so nice, to have something that I could live for. "Elie, remember that I will always love you, no matter what others think," I whisper, trying not to disturb is sleep.

"Hey, Ella! We may leave whenever you want to go!" I could hear Cinna barge through the door, "you are checked out, along with Mr. Elie here."

I nod my head, and pick up the box with my wedding dress and hand it to Cinna, "okay lets go then. We got everything, right?" Cinna does a walkthrough, nods his head to me, and exits the room. I follow him out, pushing my baby in front of me. We step into the elevator after passing the nurse's station. He hits the button and the doors close. We are silent throughout the whole elevator ride, until we get to the busy lobby and waiting room. People who were there were drunk and needed a place to rest for the morning out of the sunlight. We quickly make our way through the waiting room, not wanting any drunks to touch our baby.

Cinna stands for a second to scan the area before walking towards the left, I follow by his side, being here for nine months and still do not know my way through the Capitol. We pass by many colorful people, some stopping to say hello to the baby and asking the name. We just let the baby have the attention before we continue walking through the streets, eventually making it to our apartment and entering the lobby. We stand in the elevator, Cinna trying to start a conversation, "so, are we going to put him in his crib when we get home?"

"Yeah, I will feed him later," I reply, "we should let him get used to his surroundings as well."

"Sounds like a plan, and I have to go to my bachelor party tonight," Cinna looks down at the floor, like he was sorry.

"Mazda?" I ask, putting my hand on his shoulder.

He looks up, "yeah, you know the party animal will take any reason to party."

"Cinna, go have some fun. I do not mind staying with the baby at all, maybe I can get him to play with some toys," I smile, "you have no need to worry."

"Yeah, but…" I cut him off mid sentence, "I will call my father if I need anything. Just go have fun with the boys."

"Thank you, Ella," he gives a sympathetic smile, and the elevator doors open. We walk through our hallway until we reach the door to our home. Cinna grabs the keys and opens the door and walks through to hold it open for me and the stroller. I push him through, arousing Elie awake. He starts crying a couple of seconds later. Cinna picks him up and takes him into his bedroom. I follow behind and watch Cinna rock him and sing the lullaby like he did in the hospital. When Elie stops crying he lies him down in the crib and turns on the mobile.

"Thank you," I whisper to him, "he likes you."

Cinna smiles, "he likes you too, watch he is going to be a mama's boy."

"Oh, we will see," I pull Cinna closer and kiss him right on the lips. We both sit down on the couch for a couple seconds before Mazda picks up Cinna to take him to the party. "Do not get hurt you two!" I wave to them while they leave, I could hear them chuckling under their breath.

"Yes, momma," Cinna chuckles, waving good-bye, and closing the door behind him; it left me sitting there quietly in the dark apartment. I turn on the television to watch the news reports and change the window scenery to District Eight. I was back home, and I loved it. I have been a little homesick since I have gotten pregnant, but I know I can go back and visit any time.

The rest of the night, I pick up Elie when he needs to be changed or when he is hungry. However, he sleeps most of the time, which was a relief. I fall back on the couch, hoping I could get a couple of minutes of sleep so I was relaxed for my wedding tomorrow.


	6. Blood is Horrifying Even to Love

**Cinna:**

I pull myself up from the chair staring out at the Capitol morning. The sun was rising in the east and slowly lights up the world. Everything was silent and nobody in the house was making a peep. There was so much on my mind today, mostly things about the rest of my life with Ella and my son. Today was the dawn of a new stepping-stone of my life. Today I would finally settle down and focus on my real values in life.

"Cinna? Are you going to get your suit and head down to the marriage hall?" Mazda was behind me, surprisingly up this early in the morning. He just looks at me with a stern gaze, he was not kidding around today.

"Yes, Mazda, my suit is ready in its garment bag. The wedding does not even start until nine; it is six in the morning. May I please watch this beautiful sunrise? It is truly inspiration for my next outfit that I make," I reply to him, still paying attention to what is outside the window, "it is just so symbolic, and I need to know the reason why."

Mazda lays his hand on my shoulder, making me turn my gaze over to his dark green eyes without contacts, "hey, I tell you this now, you are doing the right thing. Stop second-guessing yourself; she is a beautiful young woman that is the mother to your child. You should be ecstatic that you are marrying her."

"I am Mazda, I am. I just want to see her face before we leave," I whisper to him, he just nods head and steps out of the way. I make my way through out small apartment and into our room, where Ella is getting her beauty sleep (like she needed it.) I just kiss her on the cheek before grabbing my garment bag out of the closet and heading towards the living room. Mazda was sitting on the couch and was halfway asleep, "Cinna, may we get some coffee?"

I nod my head, "I was just about to ask that myself. Lets get going before the morning rush comes in." Mazda gets up, throws his suit around his shoulder and holds it just above his shoulder. I do the same thing; grab one set of the apartment keys before exiting into the hallway and close the door behind me. We make our way through the small hall and hit the button for the elevator and we wait quietly.

When the elevator arrives on our floor we step and wait. I peer down at feet the whole ride to the lobby; luckily nobody else joined us through the whole entire ride. Mazda and me were the only people in the lobby, which was unusual, because this building usually has tons of early birds. I follow my friend through the lobby and into the outside. The fresh air felt great, being stuffed in a packed club for most of the night. I slowly make my way to the coffee shop about a block away and enter along with Mazda.

"I want a vanilla almond latte, with cream," I peer down at the sweets next to me, "and a banana nut muffin." Mazda places his order and we stretch out on one of the couches laid out in the room. A waitress hands us our food and drinks. I just sip at my drink and pick at my muffin. There was so much on my mind right now, and I was nervous because of it.

"Cinna, what is on your mind?" Mazda asks, taking a swig of his coffee and laying it down on the table.

"Just a lot of things. I am thinking about how I am going to support Ella and me. I applied for that stylist position; however, I never got a call back," I just lay my coffee on the table and cover my face with my hands.

"Yeah, like your daddy's money cannot support you," Mazda rolls his eyes, "he still support you? Right? You do know he does not do that to your sister and I? That is why you are so worried, since you had been living with him for so long you do not know how to support yourself? Seriously Cinna, seriously?"

My blood was boiling now, he had to pull out that card, "Dad is still debating if he wants to add me to the line. That is why he has been supporting me for the longest of time. Now it is my time to pick out my life choices and I want to be a stylist. I am on the list, and if somebody quits I have a chance to become one. Anyways, I have no need to worry; I do not have these Capitol problems like you. My soon to be wife is a victor, we both will have enough money, and now if you excuse me I am going to my wedding. It is in another hour and half and Ella should be there by now and the guest."

I get up from the couch, forgetting my garbage, and head straight to the front door. I walk out into the chilly March air. I pull my suit closer to my body and make my way towards the marriage hall where everybody was. Mazda was trying to catch up, but I increased my speed. Once I make it there, Cecelia and Velvet were talking to each other in the main lobby. "Hello you two," I put on my best smile.

The two of them turn to me, Velvet smiles, "hello to you as well Cinna, how has your morning been so far?"

"Great for the most part, just had a little argument with my brother-in-law slash friend. For the most part, it has been good," I reply, turning towards the door and Mazda entering.

"Dammit, Cinna! Why did you leave me?" he shouted out me, waving his fist in the air angrily.

"Cause, that is what my daddy told me too," I make a sarcastic remark. I roll my eyes, give the seating arrangement to Cecelia and head over to the changing rooms. The first one was closed because of Ella and her girl friends getting ready for the party. I enter the one across the hall and turn on the light. It was a small changing room, no bigger than a small living room. It was perfect for me and I hang my garment bag on the back of the door. I turn towards the mirror and check my hair and eyeliner; everything was in check. I strip off my clothes and pull on my black suit and work to put on the navy tie that my father wanted me to wear. One more check and I hang up the outfit that I came in the garment bag and take it with me.

Walking through the hall, I find it eerily quiet and decide to tap my shoes on the tiled floor. I could hear the extremely faint talk from the lobby of people. When I walk around the corner and into the lobby I find everybody standing around. Cecelia had Elie in her arms, the baby stroller right next to her. She was looking down at the baby and bouncing him in her arms. I walk over to her, she looks up and smiles, "I love your child, and he is so precious. I am so happy that he is here on Earth."

I give her a boyish smile back, "yeah, I love him so much. I want to be able to watch in grow up and hopefully get married."

"I am sure you will be able Cinna," she looks back down at the baby and lays him in the stroller, "I guess Velvet and me should head and find out seats. See you later Cinna." She pushes the stroller, grabbing onto Velvet, and enters the main area. There are no other guests that come in; it was just going to be my family and Ella's family. I walk in behind Velvet and walk through the center and onto the stage.

Everybody waits for the wedding to start quietly and the time flies by quickly. I could hear the wedding march in the background, the sound was peaceful to me and it calms my nerves. There is a brief silence before Ella walks in. She is beautiful; Carrion has his arm around hers. I could not help myself from smiling, seeing how beautiful was right now was overwhelming. When she gets closer, I notice the grin that was on her face. When she steps up with me, I grab onto her hand and turn towards the justice.

I ignore of the procession, until I am asked one question, "do you take Ella Hawthorne to be you lovely wedded wife."

I look her in the eye and smile, "I do." Ella has the same answer and we are officially married. There is a long passionate kiss on the lips, before we step off the stage. Everybody in the room was clapping when we exit into the lobby and head straight for the black car outside waiting to take us to our reception. I help Ella in and close the door behind her and get in the car on the other side of the car.

Ella lays her head on my shoulder and I lean my hand on top of her head. She wraps her fingers around mine, and whispers, "Together?"

I smile and kiss her on the head, "together. Forever." We stay quiet for the rest of the time, trying to settle that we are husband and wife now. The car stop and the avox opens the door for Ella and me. "Thank you, my dear," I whisper to the avox before waving goodbye. He bows his head and closes the door and walks behind the car and drives away. My wife is already heading inside, and I follow behind. She finds a table and sits down; I take a seat next to her and watch the small group that followed us from the wedding. Our parents sit at the same table as us, along with Cecelia with our son. I notice that he is awake and tries to identify his surroundings.

"So, I guess you are our daughter now?" my father pulls Ella closer to him.

"Yes, I guess I am, dad," Ella smiles, loosing herself from my father's grip.

"Cinna? I heard the news that you applied to be a stylist," Velvet mentions, "what district did you ask for?"

"Twelve, I always think that they deserve better than they do," I reply, "so, yeah, lets get off of this topic. How is everybody's day going so far?" All I get is 'fine.' My father looks at me with a serious look; he was not supposed to find out that I applied for that position. The rest of the small breakfast we have is quiet, with a few conversations at the table here and there. My father insists that we open our wedding presents, and he picks out two and lays one in front of Ella and one in front of me.

"Who is yours from?" Ella asks, looking at the tag of hers.

"My father, yours?" I ask already untying the ribbon.

"President Snow and Seneca, and it is just for me," she whispers quickly unwrapping the present, and takes out a letter and starts to read it out loud, "You know that you cannot defy the Capitol. Hope this wedding was worth it. With love from President Snow and Seneca." What happens next is horrifying, she lifts out a picture of her friend's family with her friend circled, and a white rose with blood on it. Ella screams, dropping the flower back into the box and causing Elie to cry. Cecelia started to calm him down and I tried to calm Ella. Everybody in the room is staring at us now.

"I shall get my revenge on Snow, one day," she knocks the box onto the ground and starts crying, leaning her head on the table. I peer up at Velvet and he looks towards the door, knowing he had to do something. I knew that I had to do something.


	7. Welcome to the Rebellion

**Ella:**

"Mommy! I want another story!" Elie shouts at me, pointing to the books on the bedside table.

"Okay, but this is the last one for the night. Mommy needs to go to sleep soon," I pick up a book. It was an old one about a cat in a hat. He listens attentively when I read through it' eventually his eyes droop close and he goes to sleep. I place the book back in the basket and kiss him on the forehead, get out of the chair next to his bed and turn off the light. I peer over my shoulder to see him, "good night my little angel. Have sweet dreams." I close the door behind me and make my way down the hall to mine and Cinna's room. Cinna was lying in bed reading romance novel.

"Is Elie asleep?" he asks, closing the book and laying it on the bedside table and along with his reading glasses.

I nod my head, "but you are doing reading time tomorrow. You got that?"

"Okay then dear," Cinna tapping the side of the bed next to him. I crawl into the bed next to him and lay my head on top of his chest. He pulls his arms around me and starts singing the lullaby that I always loved him singing to Elie. I peer up at him sleepily and give him a lazy smile. "Oh yeah, Ella, I have to get up early tomorrow. I have been called back for the styling position. If I can prove that I can design pretty well, I get the job," Cinna whispers into my ear, "is that okay?"

"Why would it not be okay?" I reply to him, then letting out a loud yawn.

"I do not even know why I asked," Cinna kissed my forehead, "goodnight, Ella."

"Goodnight, Cinna," I get comfortable on his chest and my eyes droop close. Slowly I fall back into dreamland, but this night's dream is one that I can recall clearly. I was running through the streets of the Capitol, a gun in hand, dressed in some gray suit and black boots with the numbers '451' on the side. I was following the golden curls of Finnick Odair.

"Ella! Hurry! They are chasing after us!" Finnick shouts, looking back behind us to find vicious wolf mutts chasing after us. We pick up our pace and cut a corner. I peer over at my partner, hoping that he had a plan. We eventually reach a dead end, and I just have enough time to whisper, "I love you, Cinna," before I die.

"Ella, are you up?" Cinna shakes me a little bit.

One of my eyes open, I pull myself up, and sit up on my side of the bed, "yes, Cinna, yes."

He gives me a kiss on the cheek and gets out of bed, "I am sorry to leave you so early, but I need to get there in a hour and half and I need to get ready."

I hold my head, whisper something under my breath, before replying to Cinna, "it is okay dear; it is okay. Just get going where you need to go. I will be at the house if you need me."

"Thank you, Ella. I will be home at four today. I will take us out for some food when I get home," Cinna starts to make a plan to make up for it, "see you later. Hope you have a good day." He gets ready, putting on the same outfit that he was wearing the day me and him first laid eyes on each other. He leaves the room and I know he is gone.

The first thing I do in the morning is pull on a tank top, jeans, and a hooded sweatshirt. I push up my glasses and blindly make my way to Elie's room. He is already up, trying to dress himself, but putting his clothes on backwards. "Okay, Elie, I know you like to see if you can dress yourself, but would you like mom to help?" I put my hands on my waist.

He looks up at me, "no, I got my clothes on."

"Yes, but they are on backwards. Good try, I will give you points for actually getting them on this time. Now let mommy help you put them on properly," I get down on one knee and turn his shirt right side up, his pants were okay, and switch his shoes and tie them.

"Thank you, mommy," he puts his arms up in the air, wanting me to pick him up. I pull him up in my arms, carrying him with one arm around him. We head into the kitchen and I sit him in his booster seat at the kitchen table.

"What do you want for breakfast, sweetheart?" I ask him, turning my attention to the table seeing if he was doing something wrong. Luckily he is just playing with the crayons and coloring book laid out on the table from last night.

"I want some cut up fruit and granola," he answers me, taking his attention from his coloring book for a couple of seconds before returning back to his coloring. That sounded like a good breakfast and I hit a red button on the table and type in the food that I wanted. It came up ready for serve. I grab a fork for Elie and a spoon for my oatmeal and sit down at the table. I hand my son his food and move his coloring book away from where he was eating.

"Thank you, mommy," he whispers, starting to eat a piece of banana.

"You are welcome, Elie," I lean over the table and start eating my oatmeal. I slowly devour it, done after Elie who was coloring again in his book. I grab out dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher. I decide to sit at the living room couch, were I could watch TV and watch Elie at the same time. I flip it on, deciding to watch the Hunger Games coverage. It was currently down to the final five, the boy from three, the girl from two, the girl from four, and both from one. They recently called a feast, and the careers were battling it out over the food. The District Three boy was stealing some apples from the table while the careers were distracted. Eventually he runs away without being caught, the camera keeps on the fight. I knew the District Three boy was going to be named the victor today. I had a strange gut feeling.

Elie and me are like this for an hour and half until there is a knock on the door. "I got it," I whisper, turning off the television set and open the door. A man, that is in his early forties, and was dressed like Gamemaker is at the door. "What do you want?" I ask him, suspicious by his look.

"You are Ella Rossi?' he asks, looking around the hall to see if anybody was there.

"Maybe, what is it to you?"

"I am Plutarch Heavensbee, all I have is an invitation for you, may I come in?"

I step out from in front of the door and let him through, "I am not going to see the president if that is what it is for."

"No, I promise you that it is not," he steps into my apartment, and hands me a card, "I would like to join the Capitol Rebellion Group along with your husband. I heard what has happened to you and Cinna, and we want to help you."

"Well what is this group about," I return to my place on the loveseat.

"We are planning to rebel against the Capitol, along with the victors. Really Ella, I believe it is going to be good for you and Cinna. I will leave the decision up to you and your husband. There is a meeting tonight and every Friday night. Just come the meeting place on the card. Anyways, I wish you a good day dear, and hope to see you tonight."

"I will think about this, you actually are more likely to see me and Cinna there tonight. Have a great day and see you tonight, Plutarch," I whisper, he gives me a small bow of the head before leaving the apartment and closing the door behind him.

"What was that about?" Elie asked, his attention was completely diverted from his coloring books.

"Which baby sitter would you like to watch you tonight, Elie? Actually, I will call Cecelia to watch you. Would you like grandpa to come over as well?" I question him, hoping that he would want them to come over. I wanted to go to the Capitol Rebellion Group; I wanted to avenge the death of my best friend since I was a little girl. I wanted to get my revenge for forcing me into prostitution. I wanted the Capitol to go down.

"I want grandpa and Cecelia to come over. They buy me chocolate and read me as many stories that I want. They also play games with me," Elie replied, jumping out of his booster seat and toddles over to me. I pull him up on my lap and lay down on the love seat. I grab the remote to the windows and turn on the District Eight scenery. Elie crawls over to my side and falls back to sleep on my arm. I adjust myself so he is comfortable and fall asleep myself.

"Ella! Elie! I am home!" I could hear Cinna's voice from the front door, "I have great news!"

My body jumps up, "did you get the job?" Elie wakes up and looks up towards his dad, who is standing over us.

"Yes! I am going to be a stylist next year!" Cinna shouts, leaning down and connecting his lips with mine. I close my eyes and put my hand on his cheek. I was so ecstatic that he got the job; today was a good day after all.

"Ew, old people love," Elie whispers, jumping off the couch and sits on the floor staring at the scenery. We pull apart and laugh at our son's dismay. He looks up at us and shakes his head. The two of us have taught him well, and made him not afraid to say what is on his mind.

Cinna walks over and takes a seat next to me. We kiss again before breaking loose to look at the District Eight scenes on the window. Elie decides to join us by getting between his father and me. "Hey Elie, lets go color again," I pick up and take him back to his booster at the kitchen table.

"Mommy, I want to spend time with daddy!" Elie groans, peering over to his father, "I have not seen him all day!"

"Well mommy and daddy need to have private conversation," I explain to him, he lets out a loud sigh, but colors. I return to Cinna, who is sitting on the couch, and take a seat next to him. I lean up next to his ear, "Cinna we got an invitation to a group. A capitol rebels group."

"Why did we get that?" He whispers.

"Plutarch Heavensbee came over, he told me that it is beneficial for you and me to join. After all that has happened to us. Cinna a lot has happened to us in the past four years, I want to avenge those in the Capitol. They killed my best friend since we were babies, they forced me into prostitution, and they made me lose my respect and dignity. I want to get my revenge. "

He is resistant at first, but when he realizes that I want this, "when is our first meeting?"

"Tonight," I whisper, "my father and Cecelia are coming over to watch Elie. We can go; Elie wants his grandfather to come over. "

"I guess we are going then," Cinna whispers and kisses me on the lips, "for you Ella." I throw my arms around his neck, pushing him closer to my body. I break the kiss and give him a peck on the cheek before getting off the loveseat, letting go. I pull Elie out of his chair and tell him to wash his hands before going into his room to play with his toys. I smile at Cinna before taking a seat next to him waiting for my father and Cecelia to arrive.

We step into a dark alley that seemed to be the perfect hiding place for this Capitol Rebellion group. At the door, we meet up with a man dressed in all black that asks for our names. "Ella and Cinna Rossi," I reply, "Plutarch Heavensbee invited us."

The man grins at us, "welcome to the group Ella and Cinna, step right in." He steps out of our way and we both casually stroll in. Plutarch greets us with a smile and leads us both to our seats. I slip into my chair along with Cinna.

Plutarch stands in front of the small round table of Capitol citizens, "Welcome Cinna and Ella. Welcome to the rebellion."


	8. Make an Impression

**Cinna:**

The sun stretches across the bedroom and warms me under the covers. I reach over to Ella, who had fallen asleep on top of the covers with sketchbook in hand. She had so much on her shoulders with her Capitol clients. I just peer up at the ceiling before sliding out of the bed. Once I am up, Ella's eyes open as well. She lets out a loud yawn, "good morning Cinna."

A goofy grin paints my face, "good morning Sweetheart." I walk over to her side of the bed and kiss her on the forehead. I peer down at her face and take the sketchbook and pencil out of her hands and help her under the covers. "I have to get going, wish me luck," I brush her pale lips with mine before making my way to the closet.

"Cinna?" I peer over shoulder and notice Ella pulling herself up out of the bed, "leave an impression."

"I would not be doing my job if I did not do that," I walk into the closet and turn on the light and pull on a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans. Grabbing a pair of dress shoes I return to my wife. When I first glance up at her our son was laying in the bed next to her, trying to look innocent. "Well good morning Elie," I raise an eyebrow stopping at the foot of the bed, "may I ask why you are in me and mommy's bed?"

"Nobody came to my room, so I thought I would come to your room. Mommy said it was okay," Elie looks over to his mother for reassurance.

She nods her head and smiles, "Cinna, he came in her acting so sweet. I am his mother, how could I say no?"

"It is fine. Well you two, I am going to the bathroom to get ready and I must get going. See you all at the city circle, or training center, good bye," I bow my head to them, "have a good day, and Elie be on your best behavior." I exit the room and go across the hall into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I head over to the counter and turn on sink. I put my toothbrush under the water then under the toothpaste dispenser and start to brush my teeth. I leave the water running and spit out whatever is in my mouth. Soon enough I was putting on the finishing touches with golden eyeliner.

"Goodbye, daddy!" Elie was at the foot of my bedroom door. I give him a wave goodbye before leaving the hall and pull my shoes on near the kitchen then grabbing the garment bag. I look back at Ella and Elie, who are racing to see who could get to his room first. He wins and cheers before opening his door and entering the room. She gives him a small cheer and follows behind, closing the door behind her. Only if I could spend more time with them; however, I shake off that thought before leaving the apartment and into the hallway.

"_The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected."  
>― <em>_Nicholas Sparks_

"Oh Cinna! The outfit is beautiful!" Venia was ecstatic at first sight of the dress.

"Yes! You surely are going to leave an impression on the games this year!" Flavius claps his hands. My prep team was a great judge if the Capitol citizens were going to love the burning coal idea.

"Just wait until it is on fire," I whisper.

All of their eyes widen, "why would you burn your outfit?"

"Synthetic fire, it is not going to burn them at all. The only thing that is going to harm the outfit is the cape, but it is designed to do that," I reassure them, "trust me, I am not a complete mad man. Just ask my wife and son."

"Oh, on that topic Cinna, may we see a picture of your son and wife? I have still yet to meet them by the way," Flavius replies, "do you have a picture on you?" I pull out my wallet and open it to the picture of me, Ella, and Elie at the park a couple of weeks ago for my son's soccer game. I take out the picture and hold it to the prep team. They turn into little girls that just seen their celebrity crush in a magazine. "Cinna they are so precious," Flavius smiles, "I cannot wait to meet them in real life."

"If you ever do," I reply, taking back the picture and put it back in my wallet. There is an announcement that the tributes are arriving. I give them very few instructions, wanting to do most of it myself. The trio leaves, leaving me in the room by myself out looking the Capitol. I grab the remote to the windows and change it to a wooded forest, something that we did not have in the Capitol. The dense woods, the dry leaves the crackle under your feet, and natural colors was something that I ached for in my life. It was just so inspiring in pictures; it must be in real life.

I just stare at it for at least an hour until the prep team comes to collect me. "She is not a fighter! I was happy for that. I heard the tributes are usually horrible and try to hurt you unless you get a career district," Octavia smiles, walking me through the halls until we were in front of the door to the room where the tribute was in.

"Okay, well lets head in," I open the door. A girl with long brown hair and gray eyes that I know is Katniss Everdeen of District Twelve was standing there naked. I examine her body then release my prep team. "Hello, I am Cinna," I give her a reassuring smile.

"Katniss," she replies.

"I am sorry for what happened to you, but it was brave for your sister," I whisper to her, "I am here to help. Put on the robe, lets talk some more." She pulls over the robe and we walk down the hall and back into the room I was waiting in. The windows changed back into the Capitol scene. She walks over and sits down on one of the loveseats and I follow behind, taking a seat across from her. I hit the button on top of the table and the food pops up. I grab a cup of tea and lean back in my seat, "did they explain to you how to get sponsors?"

"Yes, but lets just say I am not good at making friends," she grabs some food and slowly eats it, "you're here to make me look pretty."

"I am here to help you make an impression. Tonight at the tribute parade I am going to show you off to the world," I place my tea back down on the table and dab my mouth with a napkin, "do you want to see your outfit for this evening?"

"Is it another coal miner get up, you have to dress us in the clothes of our district."

"I did not want to do that, you will see. Lets get you ready," I pull myself up from the cushion, and open the garment bag. The black outfit falls out. I help Katniss get into it and the preps return helping her shoes. I did her make up quickly. Once she was dressed the prep team swooned over her. I help her out and onto the elevator where we meet up with Portia and Peeta.

"We did a great job," I lean over a whisper into the other stylist's ear.

"Yeah, perfect job, we are going to make an impression," Portia whispers back, "wait until the Capitol sees them." I chuckle and wait for the elevator doors to open, once on the bottom floor we step out. We stand by the District Twelve chariots.

"Okay, we are going to set fire to your outfits now, do not worry you will not get burned," I explain to the two teens standing in front of me. They both look in horror, like I was lying, before agreeing to this. We both set them on fire and let them onto the horse drawn carriage. Then they are gone from our view, but we make our way through the crowds of Capitol citizens so we could meet them back at the training center. We watch from the giant screens that were placed on the presidential mansion, all cameras were panned onto our tributes. When we make it to our destination we meet up with Effie and Haymitch, who both seem impressed with out outfits. "Great job," Haymitch pats me on the back.

"Thanks," I smile, releasing a little chuckle; I could not believe that every Capitol citizen was focused on our designs. No rookie designers were able to do this. When the chariots pull into our area, twelve pulled in front of us, I could not help telling Katniss, "perfect." Before we know, the two of them are whisked off into the training center.

I look towards the District Eight chariot and notice Ella with Elie standing next to Velvet. I give Portia a goodbye before walking over and covering her eyes. "Guess who?" I whisper into her ear.

"Ummm…the milk delivery guy? Am I right?" I could hear the playful tone in her voice, "no, I know it is you Cinna. You better let go of me before I get our son against you."

"Oh no, I am so scared of Elie," I chuckle, letting go of her face and kneel down to Elie. He was holding onto his mother's leg, staring at a horse like it was going to eat him. I chuckle, "they will not hurt you son, they are actually really nice. Would you like to meet them?" He nods his head and grabs onto my hand and we walk up to the red horses that pulled the District Eight chariots, "see they are kind. They do not want to hurt you." He pets their legs and holds onto my hand tightly. We walk away and head back to his mother.

"Cinna, Elie wants to stay with my father and Cecelia. It leaves the house to just us and no one else. I think we shall be going," Ella grabs onto my hand, "goodbye Elie, be good for grandpa and Cecelia. They will report if you do anything bad to them."

"I will be good, mommy, have a good time with daddy. I will see you tomorrow," Elie whispers, hugging Ella's leg before walking behind Velvet.

Ella smiles before kissing me on the lips, "lets head home, I have a surprise for your Mr. Make an Impression." I chuckle, let Ella pull me through the crowds once again, this time they starting to party and drink. It reminds me of the first day Ella and me met at my father's party. The crowds were filled with drunks, who try to latch onto my wife and me, trying to congratulate us. "Get off you stupid drunks!" she shakes them off and runs away. I chase after her until we are in front of our apartment complex. We both step into the lobby and latch onto each other's hands and head for the elevator. It just lets off a group of residents that are going to parties outside. We are the only ones heading up on the elevator ride and get off on our floor.

"Okay, do not go into our room until I tell you when we are inside our apartment. There is a bottle of wine laid out for you on the kitchen counter. Just sit back and relax until I call you into our bedroom," she stops us in front of the door and kisses me on the lips, "here is just a preview, you did so well dear and you deserve a treat." She opens the door and walks in and heads directly towards the bedroom. I notice the wine on the table, close the door behind me, and pour me a glass. It was a red wine that Ella loved to drink.

I take a seat on the couch and sip from my glass. Ella had cleaned up the house, there was no toys scattered around the living room. She was trying to make this special for me, knowing that I would not see her much within the next couple of days. Make our last day last long enough for the next stretch of days.

"Cinna! I am ready! Bring the glass of wine with you!" she shouts from the room. I hold onto my glass of wine and head into our room. To my surprise it is covered with candles and all lights are off. Ella was stretched out on the bed in the dress that I made her for eveningwear. "I love you Cinna, and I am happy for you," she whispers, "let me show you how much I love you." Then we kiss.

"_You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."  
>― <span>Dr. Seuss<span>_

**Author's Note: Okay guys, I am going to ask you what your favorite quote out of the story is so far. There is going to be a second part to this that I would like to use a quote from any character out of my fan fiction. It can be anything; I just want to use it as my intro. Other than that, thank you for reading and "may the odds be ever in you favor." **


	9. Plan B

**Ella:**

"The only issue is that Elie is at preschool, I have nobody around the house since Cinna is gone getting his tribute ready for the interviews, I just thought I would head over to the training center to spend more time with my father," I spoke in a hush tone, hoping that nobody was around to hear.

"Yes dear, but it is not safe here anymore. I do not want you to be dead," Cecelia, pleaded, "just stay home. Read a book or something; just do not go to the training center. We fear Snow's wrath, something is up, and my motherly instincts tell me that. "

"Fine Cecelia, I will not go there. Have you seen Finnick anywhere today? He was supposed to come over an hour ago and still has yet to arrive," I ask in fear of my friend.

Cecelia is silent on the phone for a couple of seconds and there is a sound like she hung up. I just slam the phone onto the hanger, angered that she would hang up with me. The lights start to flicker a couple of seconds later before completely dimming out. I am stuck in the dark, trying to find the flashlight that Cinna stores in one of the kitchen drawers. There is a gentle knock on the door.

"Open up!" a male voice shouts, "or we break down the door!"

"Never!" I scream back, blindly making my way under a cupboard. I quickly shut the door and wait there in silence. I hear banging on the front door; they were tearing it from its hinges. Suddenly it is like I am back home, in my quiet room, hoping that someone would check up on me, come and be there for me. There is a large slam against the floor and the stampede of feet against the wooden floor.

"Were is she?" I hear the man's gruff voice now, "I heard her call out from inside this house. Somebody quickly turn on the lights!" I crack open the door I hid behind and try to get a glimpse of who has invaded my home. All I can see through the yellow glow of the flashlights and above the counter was the face of the Head Peacekeeper. I gulp and close the door and wait there silently.

"Lights are back on sir!" a young boy that sounded no more than eighteen explained.

"Good! Now search every room! I will not stop until we find her!" he commanded his group of peacekeepers. Their shoes squeak against the floor, the sound of crashing and banging from them ransacking my home. There is a banging of one of them looking through the cupboards. My breathing slows and I cover my face with my hands. My life was literally ending right here, I run through my mind what I have done in this world. What did I do? Nothing, nothing at all; I am just worthless to the world and lived a meaningless existence.

The door opens up and the young eighteen-year-old peers in. His gray eyes were dull from all the hard work of being a peacekeeper, his face depressed. I knew how he felt, being forced into a job that you did not want to do. He probably was just a district boy. "Sir! I found her!" he seems pleased that he did, wheedling me out of the cupboard and presenting me to his boss.

He gives me a sinister smirk, "great job Icarus, you will be able to leave. Everybody else move out! We must get her to President Snow by one or it is all our heads!" The man snaps, sending the heard of peacekeepers crowding around me and leading me out. The group makes us march down the stairs, none of them taking their eyes off of me. In the lobby, it has been taken over by peacekeepers that let nobody in or out.

Eventually the head peacekeeper and me are the only ones that enter a vehicle that is out front of the complex. I had no shoes on, so most of the walks made my feet start to bleed. The peacekeeper requests shoes for me and all I get is a pair of leather sandals. I pull them over and wince in pain; my cuts start to burn because of the dirt that layered the bottom of the sandal. "Do you know why Snow went through all of this to get you?" the man asks, peering over at me and licking his lips.

I could see it in his gaze; I could see that I was going back to my body being sold to men for sex. This man was turned on by me, and was coming onto me. "Come on, the driver will not see. I though you were easy," he purred, laying me down onto the seat. He starts tugging at my skirt, "how about a quickie?"

A victor should not have to suffer like this; I slap him in the face and kick him in the private area. He groans in pain, pulling himself off of me, "stupid bitch."

I pull myself up and dust off, "yeah, but I am also married and have a son. Why in the hell you did that is a mystery. You look like the fool, sir, you look like a fool." He rolls his eyes and does not retaliate back and stays quiet for the rest of the ride. The two avoxes lead me out of the car and into the presidential mansion. They lead me through the familiar path towards Snow's rose garden.

"Oh, Seneca! Look who has arrived," I could see the white rose with blood on it. Another victim to his totalitarian power; another reason why that I should fear him. The smell of blood, roses, and whatever disgusting cologne Seneca wears mixes in the air, making me sick to my stomach and light headed.

"I am so very pleased," Seneca scooted over on the small loveseat patio furniture that was placed in Snow's garden, "come and sit next to me." I am weary at first, but decide to take a seat next to him. He pulls his arm around me and smiles.

"What in the hell is happening here? I do have husband that I need to pick up my son from preschool soon!" I frantically ask, "oh and you owe me so much for what those peacekeepers did to Cinna and me's home. I hope you know that."

"Oh, of course we will pay for the damages for what those idiot peacekeepers did your home. I really wanted it to be done as simple and easy as possible. We did not mean to do any harm," Snow's blown up lips purse into a smile, "as for the reason why you are here, I had an offer that I could not refuse. Seneca, wants you, and well I took the offer.""

My eyes widen, anger fills my body, "what! Never!"

Snow takes something out of his pocket and shows it to me, "you must do it, or I will kill that pesky husband and child of yours. Now you do not want me to do that do you?"

"No," I whisper, "but I will be able to see my husband and son? That is all that I ask."

"Of course, you will Seneca is just going to get your Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays," Snow explained, "You are Cinna's for the rest of the time."

"Fine, then I am yours," I just stare down at the floor, "today is Saturday, lets go." Seneca had a big grin on his face as he pulled me closer to him. He throws some money towards the president before we exit.

"I told you that I was going to get you, somehow. Now you are mine, even if it cost me a pretty penny," Seneca whispered, his hot breath on my ear sending tingles down my spine.

I roll my eyes, "whatever, but were are we heading first? May I make a phone call?"

"Why?"

"I am going to need Cinna or Cecelia to pick up my son from preschool, even if Finn has to do it."

"Fine then," he releases me to a phone that is in the hallway. I call Cecelia, tell her that I am going to be busy tonight and I am going to need her pick Elie up at three. She tells me okay before hanging up the phone. I hang it up as well, before returning to Seneca. "I tell you now, you will be very pleased with what is coming up next. I have redone my bedroom and everything. You will love it."

We step into a car that Seneca has requested; he pulls me in the same seat as him. An avox is driving, but I could not see who it is because of a barrier between the driver's seat and us. I knew the reason why, and I did not want this to happen. He leans over and brushes his lips against mine, I try my best to pull away and not lose myself in the moment. I just push him away, "I get car sick."

"Okay, I understand that," Seneca snickers, "I do as well." He straightens out his suit and leans back in the seat, staring out of the window. I lean back and do the same, staring out at the oddly dressed people that crowded the streets. I just sigh, closing my eyes and hope to wake up from this nightmare. I do fall asleep and do not awake until I am lifted out of the car by an avox. I hear the car door close behind me and I open my eyes.

"Let me go!" I struggle in the avox's arms, but he does not let go of me. I just relax in this man's arms, and when we are inside I am set down on my feet.

"I apologize, now leave Aaron," Seneca commanded, "Now lets head upstairs, my dear Ella." He extends his hand out to me; I grab on and let him lead me upstairs and into the upstairs bedroom. It was completely dark, and the only light was about twenty candles scattered about the room; creating a deep romantic glow that I always loved in bedrooms.

Seneca pulls me closer to him; he kisses the line of my neck. I let a small moan as he runs his hands down the curves of my body. "I knew that you would enjoy this. Please, I would love to make it up to you from last time. I really do love you," he whispers between kisses, "you are extremely beautiful and a great muse."

"Oh, Seneca, such flattery," I murmur. He moves me, forcing the two of us to fall back onto the bed. That is where we spend the rest of our night together; I fall asleep on his chest. He throws his arms around my bony shoulders, and does the same.

"See you Tuesday dear, remember three o'clock," Seneca whispers to me, leaning up against the doorframe in his robe. He leans over and gives me a peck of the cheek before closing the door and leaving me to find my way home. I just step down the stairs and let the avox from yesterday hold the front door open for me. I step out into the cool Capitol air; I walk through the streets and head towards the arena.

"Cinna!" I shout, "I miss you!" My voice echoes through the empty streets of the Capitol, I was in front of the training center now. I walk in and step into the elevator; I hit the number four in hope to talk to Finnick. In the elevator I just think, for the whole ride I am worried about Cinna and Elie. When the shiny doors open, I step off onto the floor and quietly navigate the halls to Finnick's room. I knock gently, not trying to draw attention to myself.

Finnick opens the door, one of his Capitol lovers crawls out, "hey, Ella, why are you here?"

I just grasp onto him, tears running down my face, "Cinna is gone! Finn, you are the only one that I can turn to!"

Finn was in shock, "what is it, Ella!"

"I am scared now! For Cinna and Elie! Snow is forcing me to be a prostitute again!" I mutter out between the tears, "and he threatened the life of Cinna and Elie!"


End file.
